Aster is a middle school girl with precognitive ability that kicks in in emergencies. She goes on the run in 1999 when homicidal aliens and their human allies kill her foster father. She is also the target of a government agent she calls Bruce Willis, who hopes to weaponize her alien genetics. She is rescued by Samael, one of the predatory aliens who seems to have had a change of heart. Nor has Aster forgotten her mother’s rules for survival and her life goal of nurturing the human space program.
Aster is the most fully developed character in Sylvain Neuvel’s Take Them to the Stars series. Her slangy speech is laced with knowing references to millennial pop culture that is just a bit too knowledgeable for her age but renders her dual nature credible.
For the First Time, Again is an enjoyable read that is probably not the end of the series. ( )

The first two books in this trilogy left me with mixed feelings, in as much as I tend not to like "secret histories." However, the climax of the second book did leave me with the sense this whole exercise had the chance to end on a satisfying note, and it did, as the alien scions of the family lines who have been in conflict for millennia have to come up with a crafty scheme to stave off disaster. How they do so I'll leave for yourselves to discover. Whatever else I can say about Neuvel's writing, he does a good job of efficient characterization. ( )

This is the third book in the Take Them to the Stars series. I read and very much enjoyed the first book, A History of What Comes Next, and I meant to read #2 but somehow I ended up putting a hold on this one. I didn't realize until I was about 100 pages in that I had not read #2 and by then I was too caught up in the story. I probably should read Until the Last of Me but there are so many books and so little time. Hopefully Neuvel will publish a new book next year and you can bet I'll be reading that.

Aster is twelve years old. Her father, whom she calls Pa, works for the Stennis Space Center. He talks her into accompanying him to the annual Christmas party and says there will be other kids there. There aren't so she hides under the buffet table with her Game Boy, dressed in her Sailor Moon outfit. She's hoping she'll be able to scoff some more chocolate mousse despite the fact there is a sign that says "One per person". In the middle of the speeches someone comes into the room and starts firing shots. Aster passes out and when she regains consciousness she is in a hospital. She is told Pa died of a heart attack and other people at the party are dead. While she was unconscious a blood sample was drawn and that has brought a visit from a colonel with the Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center. His name is Benjamin Veilleux but Aster always calls him Bruce Willis. Bruce Willis works out of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and he intends to take Aster there because of the results of her blood test. (As the reader will soon realize Aster is a descendent of aliens from space so of course her blood is unusual.). Before Bruce Willis can take Aster off more gunshots are heard in the hospital and he leaves her room. Aster figures it is a good time to make her escape. She goes back to her house, picks up her cat and takes off. She has no money and she has the feds and some gun-toting madwoman after her and she's still wearing her Sailor Moon costume. And that all takes place in the first 20 pages of the book. Aster gets taken under the protection of a man who knew her mother and who helps her learn about her people's history on earth. He also happens to be a Tracker, the aliens that have tried to kill all of her kind. Samael does seem different and he certainly helps Aster out of her present difficulties. Unfortunately, Samael sent off a message to the home planet telling them to come to Earth so bloodthirsty conquering aliens could come any time. In fact, three have already arrived. Aster has a plan to prevent the invasion and get rid of the three who are here but it needs a little work and a lot of luck. It's an unusual coming of age for Aster.

Aster can seem like a naive little girl one minute and a scheming murderer the next. Nevertheless, I quite liked her. If Neuvel hasn't already thought of it another book with a grown-up Aster would be interesting. ( )

This is the final book in Sylvain Neuvel's Take Them to the Stars trilogy. The series follows two ancient alien peoples who have been hiding on Earth for centuries. The Kibsu are searching for a home for their people, and pass on their secrets from mother to daughter. The Trackers seek to defeat the Kibsu's mission, and to do so they hunt the Kibsu down and kill them.

The protagonist of Book 3 is Aster, a 12-year-old girl who doesn't know that she's a Kibsu. Aster's mother vanished when she was little. Her mother left behind a mysterious signal that could summon help from their home planet. When Aster undergoes a blood test that reveals her alien nature she becomes a target for the US military. She also shows up on the Tracker's radar. In a twist from the first two books the only one who can protect her is Samael, the last Tracker. Samael feels guilty for killing her mother and tries to suppress his violent urges. Together the two embark on a dangerous journey to find a way to contact their kind, involving a space probe to Jupiter.

For the First Time, Again continues the intriguing premise of the first two books. And, like its predecessors it has some thrilling action scenes. Without giving it all away I'll just say that this final book of the series doesn't seem to complete the setup of the first two books and feels incomplete. Compared to the first books, Aster is not as well developed as the Kibsu characters before her. She seems too naive and passive for her age. The plot is also full of coincidences and contrivances that strain credibility. The tone of the book is all over the map - switching from serious to humorous to sentimental. While that mix of sentiment was also present in the first two books it doesn't seem to work as well in this story.

I agree with other reviewers who say that the best parts of the plot springs from Neuvel's evident passion for space exploration. I particularly liked the long appendix that details the history and achievements of various real world space missions. Once again Neuvel has put in the extensive research and enthusiasm to ground his story in a near real world. Anyone interested in astronomy and space travel will find the whole series of interest.

Overall, this book is an entertaining conclusion to the trilogy that had a lot of potential but failed to satisfactorily complete it's setup. I do wonder if another book or books may be in the offing that build on this trilogy.

Readers of Neuvel's previous books, and sci-fi lovers who enjoy stories that mix in real world history and actual space missions will likely enjoy this book. One caveat to those readers - the three books are not wholly self contained, and to enjoy Book 3 you need to have read the first two books.

RATING: Three and 1/2 Stars ⭐⭐⭐🌠

NOTE: I read an advanced review copy of the book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher Tor Publishing Group. The book was released to the public on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. ( )

For the First Time, Again by Sylvain Neuvel is the final book in the Take Them to the Stars trilogy. Once again, Mr. Neuvel knocks it out of the park. Combine a (ahem) stellar story with the fun chapter titles and corresponding playlist, and For the First Time, Again is one satisfying conclusion.

As with the previous books in the series, the heart of For the First Time, Again is Aster, the last of the Kibsu. She doesn't have the privilege of learning about her heritage from her mother or grandmother. In a fun twist of fate, she must gain knowledge of who she is from her family's sworn enemy.

Aster learns her lessons well, making her the fiercest, craftiest, and most cold-blooded Kibsu we've met. How Aster solves all of her problems is stunning in its cleverness. It is a solution I did not see coming, but I appreciate it for the shock and awe I felt as a result.

As brutal as the action scenes are, For the First Time, Again is all about hope. It feels weird to say about a series that is nothing but a cat-and-mouse chase, a very bloody and ruthless one, but it is true. Unlike her mother and her mother's mother, who were singularly focused on their attempts to "take them to the stars," Aster's goals are more widespread and universal. She doesn't see herself as other, and it makes all the difference in her outlook and her achievements. This includes the sense of hope Aster has, not just for herself but for all of humankind.

I would be remiss if I failed to discuss Mr. Neuvel's chapter titles and song choices. I've listened to the playlists for all three books and enjoyed every minute of them. Not only do they give you a great sense of the era in which each book occurs, but they also directly set the tone for each chapter. Plus, all of the songs are really good. It is as if Mr. Neuvel selected the best songs of each era and wrote each novel around them. In For the First Time, Again, we finally reached the 80s and 90s, my childhood era, which made this last book and its chosen songs particularly special to me.

For the First Time, Again ends the second trilogy by Mr. Neuvel, and I remain as impressed as ever with his writing. I love the chances he takes in selecting female teenagers to tell his story. I also enjoy that Mr. Neuvel allows his characters to travel the world, and through their eyes, so do we. His novels are grandiose in scope and well-executed, entertaining, and intense. They are violent but not gratuitously so because the violence helps further the plot. I am sad that For the First Time, Again is the end of another trilogy but hopeful that Mr. Neuvel won't make me want too long for his next novel. I'll be waiting to see what he does next! ( )